Bucknell Seminar for Undergraduate Poets

Frequently Asked Questions

• What documents/items does the application require?

  All applications and attachments must be submitted via the Stadler Center's SlideRoom portal. Required attachments include a cover letter, a poetry resume, a poetry sample (8–12 pages), an unofficial transcript from the applicant's most recent undergraduate institution, and two letters of recommendation. Please see our SlideRoom portal for more details.

   

• I am unable to use the Stadler Center Application Portal. What should I do?

  If you have trouble accessing the application form, please contact SlideRoom's applicant assistance page.

   

• Is it OK to send my application in postal mail?

  No. We cannot accept and are not responsible for applications sent via postal mail. If you have trouble accessing or using the application form, please contact SlideRoom's applicant assistance page.

   

• To whom should the cover letter and recommendations be addressed?

  Please address your materials to the "Selection Committee."

   

• I didn't find out about the program until just a few days before the deadline. Is it possible to have an extension on the deadline?

  No. The deadline is posted on our website and elsewhere for many months in advance. Our selection committee begins reviewing applications immediately after the deadline. We cannot accommodate late applications.

   

• I graduated in December. Am I still eligible?

  Yes. December graduates are eligible provided that they graduated the December immediately prior to the Seminar for which they are applying.

   

• I received my B.A. several years ago, but have not engaged in any graduate work. Am I still eligible?

  No. To be eligible, you must complete your sophomore, junior or senior year in the year of the Seminar for which you are applying. (December graduates, see the previous question).

   

• I did not receive a fellowship to attend the Seminar. Can I pay to attend?

  No. All accepted students receive a fellowship. If you did not receive a fellowship, you are not accepted to attend the program.

   

• I don't understand why I was rejected. Can you give me personal feedback about my application?

  We are sorry we are unable to provide individual feedback about the work of those who apply to the program; we simply receive too many applications to do so. Know that it's an honor for us to read your work. "Rejections" in the literary arts have little to do with deficiency or weakness in a writer who isn't accepted, but rather have to do with the distinctness and urgency of the applications that are selected in that particular round of reading. Applicants who are not admitted to the program sometimes construe the rejection as a personal affront, when actually it has very little to do with either their poems or any other part of their application and very much to do with the twelve poets who are selected: their particular combination of urgency, distinctness, dedication and promise.